Rules, roles, and moral disparity: The problem of corruption

Abstract

Business ethics has often focused on determining general ethical principles for business and how they can be applied within situations of general compliance. Much less frequently has it examined cases involving widespread noncompliance with widely accepted moral views. Nevertheless, such cases are well-known and crucially related to issues in business ethics worldwide. They are an example of what, more generally, I call "moral disparity." There are several features of this phenomenon. First, these cases occur when people act in ways at odds with what an office, role, or position is held to require. Second, the various ensuing ways of acting are widely viewed as not morally appropriate (at least in themselves), even though some (even many) may still feel justified engaging in them. Finally, I will assume that moral disparity is undesirable if not morally wrong. It is a condition that we should seek to reduce, if not eliminate.